KUWAIT CITY, July 24:Sunil and Saju were at their best this week to clinch the title in the One-Day Tourney organized by the Indian Badminton Association in Kuwait (IBAK) at the Saad Al Awzi School in Salwa Friday.
With most of the IBAK members out of the country due to the summer holidays, the organization decided to hold a tournament for all the members available so that they could remain fit for tournaments to come when the regular season starts.
While Sunil and Saju prevailed in the Blue Tier, the senior-most category in the tournament, Tinu and Samuel Johnson clinched the crown in the Red Tier with Ashir and Faiz walking home with the title in the Green Tier.
The tournament, which is a combination of knockout and league matches, brought out the best from all the players as they fought hard to prove they could prevail over tough opponents in the temperatures which were over 50 degrees Centigrade outside the playing courts.

Blue Tier
In the Blue Tier — which normally has players who have been playing badminton at a professional level and have represented their clubs, schools, districts, state, country at a top level and won awards in the open/top categories of the same - a total of five teams took part in the event with three teams earning a bye from the first round.
Blue Tier was ruled by the tandem of Sunil and Saju as they thumped Faheem and Rebin 21-17, 21-13 in the final of this category to take the championship.
The title match was a one-sided game as Sunil and Saju took their opponents to task, giving away 17 points in the first set but they were more misery in the second as they lost only 13 points to take the match in only two sets.

Earlier, in the second match of the semi finals, Faheem and Rebin were stretched to the limit before they could overcome the tough pair of Suresh and Lekha 21-19, 21-19.
Both the sets were even closer than the scores indicate and could have gone either way but Faheem and Rebin held on to their nerves to beat their very determined opponents who refused to wilt under the pressure. The game saw excellent long rallies, full of cross-court and drop shots in a very good exhibition of badminton skills from both the sides.
The first of the semis had witnessed Sunil and Saju made to fight for every point before they could outlast Pushkar and Noor 21-19, 18-21, 21-13 in a very close match, especially in the first two sets with the honors being evenly shared until the third set. In the third set, Sunil and Saju did not allow their opponents to settle down and gave away only 13 points to take both the set and the match and move into the finals.
Earlier in a knock out match, Faheem and Rebin overwhelmed Mathew and Srikumar 21-18, 21-13 but resistance coming only in the first set as the winners cruised into the semifinals.

Red Tier
In Red Tier, the players were divided into three clusters A, B and C with four teams in each of the sections as there were a total of 12 teams participating in this category of the tournament.
Since the event was a one day tournament, it was decided to hold knockout matches to find out the best tandem in each class. The leaders of each class then played each other on a league format with the best two clashing for the crown.
This group involves players of the intermediate level category, who have improved their playing skills and have taken part in open competitions in similar categories and achieved success in various events.
Tinu and Samuel Johnson proved that they are the best pair when they fought back to take revenge for their earlier defeat against the same pair in the league matches when they beat Balgopal and Prasad in back to back sets 21-18, 21-18 to capture the title.
This match was as tough as their initial clash with both sides gave nothing away although the scores were not as close as the first match. Both the sets followed an identical pattern with the ultimate champions giving away 18 points in each set.
In the semifinals, mouthwatering clashes were seen when the top three pairs came face to face with only two of them going into the finals.

Balgopal and Prasad proved that they deserved to be in the finals when they won both their matches to top the standings. In the first match, they were stretched to the limit to outlast Tinu and Samuel Johnson in a close 2-set game 22-20, 21-19.
In their second match, Balgopal and Prasad had Sabir Damani and Sai Devendran gasping for air that resulted in the latter conceding the 2nd set after losing the first one 13-21.
Balgopal and Prasad managed to bounce back and take second place and with it a place in the finals when they brushed Sabir Damani and Sai Devendran 21-13, 21-5 without breaking sweat. After giving away 13 points in the first set, Balgopal and Prasad were at their ruthless best in the second set with their opponents managing to take only five points off them.
Earlier in the elimination round, Group A saw Raja Durai and Giri Narayan waste no time to beat Jose Tomy and Suku John 21-16 21-17 while Balgopal and Prasad fought wisely to outlast Mohammad Goltwan and Tom in a seesaw battle 21-13, 9-21, 21-17.

Meanwhile, Balgopal and Prasad moved on to the next round when they overcame Raja Durai and Giri Narayan 21-19, 21-18 in another match which saw a very close competition.
Cluster B witnessed Shyam Sadhwani and Sudhakar hammer Shine PS and Joethan Cherian 21-13, 21-17 while Tinu and Samuel Johnson overcome Ronnie and Shreejith 21-17, 21-19.The second match was quite tough as Ronnie and Shreejith put up a lot of resistance.
The tandem of Tinu and Samuel Johnson were made to sweat and put in their best as they had to press on the accelerator in the last two sets to edge the good pair of Shyam Sadhwani and Sudhakar in an extended 3-set game 15-21, 21-11, 23-22.With the scores level after the first two sets, the third set was a treat to watch as it went into a tie-breaker before Tinu and Samuel Johnson could prevail over their opponents who refused to give away until the very last moment.

On the other hand, Cluster C saw Bharani and Sajith overcome Ranjith and Santosh 21-13, 23-22 while Sabir Damani and Sai Devendran blended well on the courts to outlast S Palani and Subramaniyam 23-22, 15-21, 21-16.
Sabir Damani and Sai Devendran also moved on to the next level when they edged Bharani and Sajith 14-21, 22-20, 21-14 with the second set producing a lot of fireworks from both the sides.
Green Tier
A total of seven teams took part in the competition for the crown in the Green Tier with one pair lucky to move directly into the second round after a earning a bye in the first round.
This category is based on players who have been playing badminton continuously for more than 2 years in the recent past, having developed the basic skills of the game and well versed in the rules and regulations of the game.

Ashir and Faiz showed that they were the strongest pair in Green Tier when they wasted no time to overwhelm Neha Sharath and Relin Mathew 21-7, 21-12 in the final to take the crown. The match had been expected to be much tougher but Ashir and Faiz took control of the game right from the start and did not allow their opponents to settle down.
The semifinal matches saw Neha Sharath and Relin Mathew beat Saikrishnan and Yamini 21-15, 21-14 while Ashir and Faiz overcame Nithin and Aun 21-19, 21-17.
Earlier in the knock out games Saikrishnan and Yamini tamed Shaina and Rani 21-15, 21-19 while Neha Sharath and Relin Mathew brushed aside Sayed and Sayooj 21-14, 21-18, Ashir and Faiz worked hand in hand to outlast Nishank and Sathish 12-21, 21-10, 21-17 and the pair of Nithin and Aun were given a bye.

Winners:
Red Tier
Champions: Tinu and Samuel Johnson
Runners-up: Balgopal and Prasad

Blue Tier
Champions: Sunil and Saju
Runners-up: Faheem and Rebin

Green Tier
Champions: Ashir and Faiz
Runners-up: Neha Sharath and Relin Mathew